


Something of a Situation (I Do Not Want to Escape)

by Lumeleo



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Alpha Sanada Genichirou, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Eloping, Fluff, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Atobe Keigo, Racism, wedding stress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 20:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19092205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumeleo/pseuds/Lumeleo
Summary: Genichirou is rather worried that Keigo might be driving himself to exhaustion trying to make their wedding day perfect. When a visit from his less than pleasant grandparents proves to be too much for Keigo, it's up to Genichirou to make sure his mate is happy, even if it means changing all their plans at the last minute.





	Something of a Situation (I Do Not Want to Escape)

“Hey, Sanada?” Kirihara called out into the yard. “There’s a bit of a situation.”

Genichirou narrowly avoided bashing his own thumb with a hammer, though he did also miss the nail. Sighing, he glanced over his shoulder. “Can it wait?”

“Yukimura says you really should come.” And Kirihara of all people was sounding concerned. Together those two things did not add up to anything good.

“Right.” Genichirou set his hammer down. Clearly decorating the gazebo would have to wait. “Where is he?”

“I didn’t say it was Atobe.” At Genichirou’s glare, Kirihara looked sheepish. “Upstairs."

Striding over to the backdoor, Genichirou patted Kirihara’s shoulder. Close up he looked even more worried, so some reassurance would probably not go amiss. “I’ll take care of it.”

“He seemed really upset.” And considering all the exposure they had all gotten to Keigo’s dramatics, if Kirihara said he was more upset than usual, it had to be pretty serious.

Genichirou wasted no time, barely taking the time to switch his shoes for slippers before striding inside. The house was bustling with life, people nodding at him from their various chores as he passed by. Renji seemed to be busy folding napkins, trying to herd others into helping. He was not terribly successful, considering Niou had somehow managed to turn paper napkins into paper planes and was having a war with Mukahi. How they got enough structure out of napkins, Genichirou had no idea. He could only hope they wouldn’t manage to take anyone’s eye out.

Kirihara’s directions hadn’t been terribly accurate, but Genichirou didn’t have to search very hard. He’d barely made it up the stairs when he spotted Seiichi leaning against the doorframe of the master bedroom. He’d still been hopeful that Seiichi might be amused, meaning that Keigo was simply indulging in some dramatics. Instead, he found his friend looking far too serious for his liking.

“He got a call about something,” Seiichi murmured as Genichirou walked up to him. “Don’t think it was too good.”

Genichirou nodded, opening the bedroom door. If he’d had any doubts that Keigo was actually upset, they were banished as he found the lights off.

“Keigo?” He stepped inside, squinting into the shadows. He spotted Keigo lying across the bed before he closed the door behind him, leaving them both in the dark. “Are you all right?”

“I don’t suppose you would leave if I said yes?”

“Afraid not.” He debated turning on the ceiling light, then decided against it. Crossing the room in near-darkness, he managed to fumble his way to the nearest nightstand and turn on the light there. He then sat on the edge of the bed, reaching over to brush at Keigo’s hair. “You’re upset.”

Keigo sighed, rolling over to look at him. “…I didn’t want to worry you.” Which was another concerning sign. Keigo did not usually have any problem making his emotions known, good or bad.

“Too late.” He brushed his hand through Keigo’s hair. “Seiichi said you got a call?”

“That wasn’t important.” At his doubtful expression, Keigo sighed again. “Really, it wasn’t. Annoying, sure. Upsetting, maybe. It’s just… a combination of things.”

“Right.” Genichirou frowned. “Let’s start with the call, then. What happened?”

“It was the florist. They wanted to double-check our order.” Keigo closed his eyes, leaning his head into Genichirou’s touch. “Except somehow they managed to get the colors wrong, and now they might not be able to get everything done in time in the right colors.”

“I see.” Which frankly didn’t sound like too much of a problem to Genichirou, but he knew Keigo took such details very seriously, and he wasn’t about to belittle his lover’s feelings. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to integrate the colors they thought we wanted? You’re good at that sort of thing.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I’m just… I’m so tired, I can barely think.” Keigo curled up a little, drawing closer to Genichirou.

“Tired?” Genichirou frowned. He hadn’t noticed Keigo having trouble sleeping, but they had been rather busy recently. He supposed that could wear through even Keigo’s famous stamina. “You don’t think you’re coming down with something, do you?”

“It’s just… so much.” Keigo sighed. “Like I said, this was just the last of many things that have been piling up. Any one of them I could handle, but all of it together is getting kind of overwhelming.”

“I don’t suppose I could convince you to take a break?” It was a hopeless request, of course, but he could at least try. “You’ve been running around from dawn till dusk for weeks now. Of course you’d feel stretched thin.” Genichirou did his best to help, their friends were helping too, but somehow none of that seemed to be actually lightening the load Keigo had taken upon himself.

“We only have a few days left, Genichirou. Taking a break is really not on the schedule.”

“Then you’ll just have to learn to delegate.” Genichirou bent over to press a kiss to Keigo’s temple. “I know you like to be in control of everything, and you have a very particular vision of what you want everything to be like. I’m just worried that you might be having trouble adjusting your vision to the fact that we’re trying to do most of this on our own.”

“I promised you we would keep things small, and that will happen.” Keigo opened his eyes a little, looking up to him. “This is about you as much as it’s about me. And I don’t mind, really I don’t. But that means I need to keep all the strings in my hands directly.”

“You’re not listening to me, are you?” Genichirou softened his voice. “I didn’t say you are trying to make this too big. Just that you are taking too much of the burden on yourself.”

“I just want everything to be perfect.” Keigo’s voice was barely a murmur, and Genichirou might have missed it if he hadn’t been so close. “This is important to me, Genichirou.”

“I know, love. I want it to be perfect too. But you know what?” He waited for Keigo to look up at him before continuing. “I already know it’s going to be that, because it’s the day I get married to you. Which doesn’t mean the food and decorations and all that isn’t important, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care about the details, even if I don’t have quite as sharp a vision of it all as you do. But it does mean I don’t want you breaking yourself over this.”

“I just feel like everything is spiraling out of control.” Keigo closed his eyes again, frowning. “The cake won’t be delivered until the very last minute, so we can’t set things up in advance. My grandmother’s fallen ill and can’t fly all the way over here, so she won’t be attending after all. Marui needs to get his outfit refitted because his baby bump is growing faster than expected, and while that will be done in time, he might not have time to bake the cupcakes he promised to make. And now, the flowers are either going to be the wrong color or they won’t happen at all, and everything’s just falling apart.”

“Right, then.” Genichirou ran through all the complaints in his head, tackling them in the order he could offer solutions. “First, if you think anything’s going to stop Marui from showing off his baking skills, you’re going to be proven very wrong. He might end up making some cookies as well just to show you he can work his magic no matter what. That also solves the cake problem. We’ll set up the cupcakes to start with, and have the cake carried in later, no need to hurry about that. Your grandmother’s illness is unfortunate, but we can fly over to visit her during our honeymoon. And as for the flowers, we’ll get them to add glitter of the appropriate colors. You love sparkle, and they’ll fit in.”

“See? I couldn’t think of any of that.” Keigo groaned. “I have a headache to begin with, and none of this is helping.”

“You’re going to hate my next suggestion.” Genichirou paused, waiting for protest. Instead, Keigo seemed to just wait for him to continue. “Take a nap. It doesn’t have to be long, I promise I’ll have someone wake you up in half an hour or so. However, it will hopefully help your headache, and maybe make things seem a little less terrible.”

“It might not be so easy to wake me,” Keigo sighed. “I’m so tired I could cry.”

“All the more reason to do something about it.” Genichirou sat up again, hand lingering in Keigo’s hair. There wasn’t much he could do right now to help his mate, but he hoped the scent would do something at least. “We should check up on the overall progress anyway. I’ll order a bunch of pizza, you get some sleep, and when the food is here we can get everyone fed while we talk over what needs to be done, still.”

“I hate it when you’re sensible.”

“I know. But someone needs to fill in when you’re too tired to do it.” Genichirou stood up, picking up a blanket to drape over Keigo. “You’ve been working hard. Now let me do my job for a bit, even if it’s just making sure everyone in my extended pack is safe and fed.”

“You’re such an alpha sometimes.” And yet, Keigo was already disappearing under the blanket.

“Your alpha, though.” He turned off the light on the nightstand, then walked out. He could hear Keigo’s breathing evening out even before he got out of the room.

Seiichi was still waiting outside, giving him a quizzical look. Genichirou sighed, running a hand over his face.

“Thanks for calling me in.” Genichirou kept his voice low, not wanting to disturb Keigo.

“Of course.” Seiichi nodded. “He honestly seemed like he was on the verge of a breakdown.”

“I’d tell you it’s not that bad, but honestly? I don’t think it was that far off.” Genichirou sighed, leading them towards the stairs. “I knew he’d been overworking himself with everything, but I didn’t realize it got this bad.”

“Well, this is new territory for all of us. I doubt he’s ever planned anything where he can’t just throw more money at every problem.”

“I would argue, but I know him better than that.” Genichirou couldn’t help but smile, though. “Honestly, I would have expected him to crack and bring in an army of servants by now. I’m almost feeling guilty, now.”

“Atobe is an adult, and a stubborn one at that. He would have never agreed to this if he couldn’t live with it. He might need you to look after him, but that’s hardly anything new.” Seiichi chuckled. “If nothing else, this is definitely bringing our teams closer together.”

“Assuming we all survive this mess, which might not be the case.” As they got downstairs, Genichirou caught Renji as he was passing by. “Renji. I don’t suppose you’d have data on everyone’s pizza preferences? I’ll make an order once I have a list.”

“My data is a bit spotty, but I’m sure I can fill in any such gaps.” Renji nodded. “Anything else?”

“While you are doing that, let everyone know we’ll break for dinner once the pizzas arrive.” Genichirou headed for the dining room. “Shishido? Jackal? If you’re done trying to ruin the favors, come help me get the dining room set up for us to eat.”

“I don’t get why you’d need favors anyway,” Shishido grumbled, abandoning the pile of tiny favor bags they had been putting together. “I mean, we’re like three quarters of the entire guest list, can’t we just tell you we don’t need them?”

“I’ll let you tell Keigo you think his plans are useless.” This was met with silence. “Thought so.”

By the following morning Genichirou had nearly managed to convince himself everything would be fine when he was startled by the loud sound of the doorbell. They had been living here for a couple of years now and he still wasn’t used to the blasted thing.

Apparently none of their friends who were around today had bothered to actually open the door, though he could see Gakuto and Akutagawa peeking out through the windows. Rolling his eyes at such childish behavior, Genichirou headed to the front door, opening it.

It took him a moment to realize who he was looking at. They were familiar, sure, but it had been a while since Genichirou had been face to face with them. For a reason, too.

“Atobe-san.” He frowned. “What can I do for you?”

“Well! I see that useless grandson of ours is still stuck with you.” Keigo’s grandmother sniffed, pushing her way past him. Her husband followed, giving Genichirou a dirty look. “When I heard he was getting married, I had a moment’s hope he might have come to his senses.”

“I’m afraid I’m the one he’s marrying, yes.” Genichirou crossed his arms over his chest. “If you are simply here to insult me, you can leave.”

“Oh, we want nothing to do with you. We were just hoping to remind Keigo that he could do much better.” Keigo’s grandmother glanced around, looking downright disgusted at the half-finished decorations all over the place. “So it’s true you’re making him ruin his wedding by dragging him down to your level. Suppose we shouldn’t have expected any better.”

“That is not true at all.” Ootori frowned, apparently too offended on Keigo’s behalf to stay out of a hopeless fight. “Atobe has planned everything about the reception.”

“In that case, he’s clearly already become a peasant.” Keigo’s grandfather made a face, picking up one of the delicately wrapped favors waiting on a side table. “Are these home-made? Really?”

“Handmade, thank you very much.” Jackal bristled.

There might have been more insults if Keigo hadn’t chosen that moment to join them. He’d been hanging up the lanterns outside, and had a leaf stuck in his hair. It was adorable, really, and Genichirou would have smiled if he hadn’t seen Keigo’s expression.

“Grandmother? Grandfather?” Keigo paused in the doorway, then crossed the distance to Genichirou’s side in a few fast strides. “What are you doing here?”

“Witnessing your downfall, it seems.” His grandmother sneered. “We really had hoped you’d have more sense than your sire. But no, you just had to fail in a new and different way.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kirihara clenched his fists. “There’s nothing wrong with Sanada!”

“You mean, there’s nothing right with him.” She shook her head. “Well, at least he’s an alpha, but that’s about it. No name, no wealth, no future. Clearly Keigo chose you by appearance alone. How is someone like this supposed to take over the family fortune?”

“Stop that.” Keigo’s voice was a hiss, his hands clutching at Genichirou’s arm. It took all of Genichirou’s self-control not to step in front of him to shield his mate. “Genichirou is far better than any empty-headed alpha you would have chosen for me. And why would he need to take over anything? You’ve spent my whole life telling me you don’t want me to be your heir.”

“Well, of course not. Not after your sire chose to breed with a foreigner.” Keigo’s grandfather wrinkled his nose like he’d just smelled something foul. Perhaps Genichirou imagined it, but he could have sworn he threw a glare in Jackal’s direction, too. “We were still hoping you might find an acceptable mate so the next generation wouldn’t be utterly lost, but clearly that’s not going to happen.”

“I am not just your breeding stock.” Keigo’s grip on Genichirou’s arm tightened.

“Of course not. That would require you to actually get someone suitable to breed you.” Keigo’s grandmother shook her head. “Being pretty is your only asset, and you didn’t even manage to use it properly.”

Keigo froze, but Genichirou hardly even noticed. He was moving now, standing directly in front of his mate and staring Keigo’s grandmother directly in the eyes. Screw politeness, they had lost any right to respect long ago.

“Get. Out.” Genichirou growled, making himself look as big as he could. It was rather big, especially compared with an alpha like Keigo’s grandmother, who had obviously always approached domination from the direction of influence. He would not resort to violence against the elderly, he was better than that. They didn’t need to know that, though. “You are not welcome here, now or ever.”

“You can’t throw us out!” Keigo’s grandfather looked utterly scandalized.

“Yes, I can.” He took a step forward, trying to hide his satisfaction as they moved back. “This is our property. You are intruding. If you do not leave of your own volition, I will call the police.”

“This is not over.” And yet, Keigo’s grandmother was moving back. Their friends were basically lining a path back to the door, various permutations of anger on their face. “We will be back.”

“Please. I would love nothing as much as to have you arrested for trespassing.” Genichirou kept glaring after them until the door had closed. As soon as that happened, he spun around, focusing on Keigo.

Keigo was still frozen, though only for a second. The next moment he broke, falling against Genichirou’s chest as he cried. Genichirou wrapped his arms around Keigo, holding on. After a moment’s contemplation, he shifted to pick Keigo up in his arms. Nobody said anything as he carried Keigo upstairs and into the bedroom.

Keigo was still shaking as Genichirou set him down on the bed, feeling somewhat at a loss. He had never seen Keigo in such a state before. His mate generally responded to insults with anger and wounded pride, not like this.

“Keigo?” He kept his voice soft, holding his still crying mate close. “Keigo, it’s fine. You’re fine. You’re safe, I’ve got you.”

It took an agonizing while of murmuring reassurances until Keigo’s sobbing finally broke down into quiet hiccups. As Keigo finally spoke, his voice was muffled by the way he was pressed into Genichirou’s chest. “…I can’t do this.”

“You are Atobe Keigo. You can do anything.” Genichirou nuzzled Keigo’s hair, making sure to get his scent all over his distraught mate. “Your grandparents are racist old idiots who refuse to see how amazing you are.”

“I don’t feel amazing.”

“Nonsense.” Genichirou hummed in thought, trying to find the best way to word his feelings. He was not the most expressive person, but it was clear that right now Keigo needed more than just being held. “You are one of the strongest, smartest, most resilient people I know, and I’m lucky to call you my mate. You are a great friend and captain, and you are the second best tennis player I have ever encountered.” That earned him a teary chuckle, and Genichirou smiled. “You are so much more than just a vessel for someone’s bloodline. Regardless, if we do ever have children, they are going to be the most wonderful pups ever, simply because they are ours. And even if that doesn’t happen, I’ll be blessed just to be able to call you my husband.”

Keigo was quiet for a while, then finally pushed himself away from Genichirou’s chest. "I can’t deal with this. Not on top of everything else. If they come back — God, if they show up during the wedding…”

“Then let’s not have a wedding.” At Keigo’s startled expression, Genichirou set his hands on his shoulders. “Don’t misunderstand. I absolutely do want to marry you, and I won’t let anything get in the way of that. However, that doesn’t mean we need to have a reception that they could try to ruin.”

“You mean… elope?” Keigo blinked. “We can’t do that! Not this close!”

“Yes, we can.” The idea had only just occurred to him, but it was now growing fast. “Our guest list is only people who care about us and want us to be happy. They would not want to see you drive yourself to a breakdown for the sake of the reception.”

“We can’t just cancel everything.”

“We don’t have to.” Genichirou shrugged. “They can have a party without us if they want to, so the food won’t go to waste. Kabaji was going to housesit anyway, so they’ll have access to the house. We can go out to dinner with our families once we get back from the honeymoon, and I’m sure everyone will be happy.”

“You’re making it sound awfully easy.” Keigo sniffed, rubbing at his eyes.

“Not easy, but possible.” He cupped the side of Keigo’s face. “Keigo. The last thing I want is seeing you unhappy because of our wedding of all things. If you do want to go along with this, we’ll make it work, and we’ll make sure your grandparents won’t get anywhere near the reception. But right now, I'm worried that this will be too much for you.”

“I’m not that weak.” Keigo’s shoulders slumped. “I’m just so tired…”

“I know. You’ve been working yourself to the bone for the sake of the reception, because you’re a stubborn, resilient, amazing man. However, at some point, even you might have to step back.” Genichirou rested his forehead against Keigo’s. “Atobe Keigo. I love you, and I want nothing but your happiness. Will you marry me? …Today?”

“You are impossible.” And yet, Keigo was smiling, just a bit. “However, I’m not sure even you could pull that off.”

“I’ll take that as a challenge.” Genichirou stole a light kiss. “Give me an hour to see what I can do. You take a nap, and I’ll handle everything. You’ve done enough.”

“…One hour.”

“Deal.” With another kiss, he drew away, pausing to once again drape a blanket over Keigo. This constant exhaustion was worrying, but he was rather hoping it would clear up once Keigo wasn’t under quite so much stress.

One hour. He was going to manage this.

Fifty-seven minutes later, Genichirou got back into the bedroom. Keigo was fast asleep, and Genichirou almost didn’t want to disturb him. However, a deal was a deal, and anyway their timeline had just been moved up quite drastically.

“Keigo?” He shook Keigo’s shoulder. “Keigo, wake up.”

“Whuh?” Keigo blinked up at him. “Already?”

“Afraid so.” Genichirou smirked. “Get up. We’re getting married.”

“It can’t be that simple.” And yet, Keigo was sitting up.

“Yes, it is. I’ve got all our paperwork ready. All the guests are aware of the change of plans, and just like I thought, they all agreed this will be for the best. Seiichi has agreed to organize the party in our absence, and the vendors know to contact him for any updates. Yagyuu and Ootori are getting our bags in the car. We’ve got an appointment to get the marriage contract signed, and after that we have plenty of time to catch our rescheduled plane.”

"Our plane where?” Keigo frowned. “There’s no way you managed to move up our hotel reservations at this point.”

“For the honeymoon suite, no. However, they were quite happy to reschedule when I upgraded to the royal suite.” Genichirou smirked at Keigo’s surprised look. “You’ve been working hard to live like us ordinary people just to make me happy. I figure I can tolerate some extra luxury in turn. It’s a heavy burden, but I’ll bear it for you.”

Keigo blinked, then gave him a light shove. “You horrid man. You’re going to make me cry again.”

“I think that’s allowed on our wedding day.” Genichirou offered Keigo a hand up. “Come on. Let’s get changed into something that’s going to be comfortable on the plane.”

All in all, he wasn’t too surprised to get ambushed on their way out of the bedroom. It seemed everyone was lined up to give them both hugs and congratulations, making their way towards the stairs rather slow. The last one in the sequence was Marui, who was giving them a downright manic grin as he handed over two gift bags he had taped shut.

“No opening these until you’re on the plane. Just a little something from us to help pass the time.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t ask which one is for which of us.” Genichirou chuckled as he took the bags, one yellow and one blue. “Thank you.”

“Now, go off and relax for once in your life.” The next moment Marui caught him in a hug that was made somewhat awkward with his baby bump, only releasing him to go for Keigo in turn. Genichirou could have sworn he caught some murmurs from Marui, but he could neither hear it nor had any intention of asking.

Between actually signing the papers and making their way through airport security, Genichirou had nearly forgotten about the gift bags by the time they settled on the plane. Keigo clearly hadn’t, as he reached for his carry-on bag as soon as the seatbelt signs went off, digging out the blue bag. Keigo peeled the tape off with precise hands, peeking in.

“Mostly snacks. Why am I not surprised?” Keigo chuckled, digging into the bag. “Ah, a novel! This will be nice.”

Genichirou opened his own bag now, finding it likewise filled with snacks and other small things. He was still going through the contents when Keigo excused himself to head to the restroom.

When Keigo returned, a stewardess was making her way through the first class with drinks. Coming to their side, she smiled. “What can I get you gentlemen?”

Genichirou was about to order, only for Keigo to cut him off. “Sparkling water, please.”

Genichirou gave Keigo a quizzical look. His mate was generally not averse to a celebratory drink, and he certainly would have thought a drink was exactly what Keigo needed.

“Right! And for you, sir?”

“He’ll take champagne.” Keigo smirked. “After all, we need to celebrate.”

Genichirou was even more confused now. As the stewardess gave them their drinks, though, Keigo reached into his pocket, leaning closer to Genichirou to murmur.

“Turns out Marui decided I needed something besides just snacks.” Keigo held up what Genichirou first thought was a thermometer. When the realization hit, he stared at the little device, then turned his eyes to Keigo.

“…Really?” Genichirou swallowed.

“Apparently it wasn’t just the wedding stress making me tired.” Keigo chuckled, tucking the pregnancy test away. The positive pregnancy test. “So, you’ll have to enjoy the champagne for both of us, husband dearest. I’ve got to think of the pup.”

After all this mess, Genichirou supposed it was only fair that he would be the one to cry for once.


End file.
